The
poorest county in the United States of America is located just 73 miles from
where we sit tonight. If we were to drive a little over an hour from this
historic hall we would find ourselves in Wilcox County where the median
household income is below that of any other county in this nation.* 11-thousand
of our fellow Alabamians live in Wilcox County where the unemployment rate is
chronically in double digits and consistently ranks above the national average.

Everyone
in this room knows Alabama is one of the poorest states in America*, where one
in four children live in poverty.* Nearly 1-million of our fellow Alabamians
are dependent on Food Stamps.

The
statistics are sobering. The facts are indisputable. Never ending cycles of a
need for jobs, better job skills and better education, plague our communities,
counties and state as they have for years.

We
recognize the challenges that we face and we resolve to reverse the trends that
have troubled our state for decades.

Alabama
is truly a great state. It's a state filled with hard working people, people
who want to provide well for their families, seek to live freely and are driven
to care for their neighbors, friends and communities.

Good
people live here.

And
we must all serve them and offer them greater opportunity to prosper if we are
to ever see our state rise from the depths of deficiency.

We
will never see an end to the plague of poverty by offering a deeper dependence
on a flawed government system. We will never help our poorest citizens, or our
future generations by casting over them the net of federal government giveaway
programs.

We
can break the cycle of poverty, but not with programs that drag our communities
and our people into the downward spiral of dependence.

That
is why we will not expand on a flawed and broken system that encourages greater
reliance, not on self, but on government, pulling even more of our vulnerable
citizens into what President Ronald Reagan called the "spider's web of
dependency."

We
will help no one if we continually make decisions that ultimately offer little
hope for our citizens while driving this great nation deeper into debt.

There
is never freedom for the Breadwinner who is dependent on the government.

Freedom
is only found in the Land that offers Opportunity. That comes from hard work
and sacrifice.

The
people of Alabama deserve the Opportunity to find a job that pays well - more
than enough than to just make ends meet.

Our
hard-working neighbors deserve Opportunity to acquire the skills needed to get
a great job that pays well.

Opportunity
for their children to receive a quality education even at an early age so they
have a fighting chance to compete in school.

Opportunity
for a lifeline out of the cycle of poverty and dependence by a government that
doesn't solve problems with more spending, but with saving the taxpayer's
money.

That
Opportunity is here.

In
Alabama.

It
continues to grow and is available to anyone who seeks to find it.

Opportunity
is being found in over 40-thousand new, future Alabama jobs that have been
created since I became your Governor. These are the higher-paying,
higher-skilled jobs that offer families a steady income, not just a wage. These
are jobs that are waiting to be filled in brand new manufacturing plants being
built as we speak.

One-thousand
Alabamians are finding that opportunity in Mobile where Airbus has invested
$600-million dollars to produce the first A320 family aircraft at its
ultramodern facility once it is completed in 2015.

Boeing
is building one of its five research facilities in Huntsville where the
aerospace giant will bring up to 400 more high paying jobs.

900
more people are working this year assembling Montgomery-made Hyundai vehicles,
which account for more than half of the company's record breaking sales.

1400
new jobs are coming to Tuscaloosa's Mercedes plant to produce two new models.
600 more jobs have been added at their new Logistics hub.

Toyota
is expanding its Huntsville engine plant, the only location in the world where
the automaker produces four-cylinder, V6 and V8 engines.

In
Lincoln last spring, Honda launched mass production of its 2014 Acura MDX sport
utility vehicle, the first time the automaker has assembled a vehicle from its
luxury line in the state.

Word
is spreading far and wide that Alabama is a great place for companies to do
business.

There
are over 60 Japanese companies in Alabama.
Two months ago I had the opportunity to travel there to recruit more
jobs and strengthen relationships with Japan's biotech industry.

During
the trip, I sat on the bus next to the CEO of Otsuka, the parent company of
Pharmavite in Lee County. I told him
about UAB and Southern Research Institute, and the work they do in the fields
of bio-tech research. As a result next week, Otsuka will be meeting with those
institutions to explore ways they can work together in the research and
development of new products.

Companies,
like Otsuka, have quickly recognized, as others have, that we have a positive
business climate and that our job training program is second to none.

But
without doubt our greatest asset for any industry is our workforce, the men and
women of this state who get up every day and go to work, to produce, build and
develop a product, a good or a service that is Made in Alabama.

I
have seen for myself the pride, skill and dedication of the men and women who
work in Alabama's industries as I've traveled across this state on our Road to
Economic Recovery Tours.

In
Fayette, I saw workers weld together dump truck beds.

In
Clarke County I watched as skilled craftsmen carved out church pews, and I saw
workers in Franklin County assemble motorhomes known the world over.

And
at Hyundai, they now work around the clock to meet the world's growing appetite
for Alabama-made cars. Montgomery workers broke the facility's monthly
production record three times last year.

Watching
these men and women work on the assembly line, I have never been more convinced
the best workforce in the country is right here in Alabama.

And
nothing is more important to me than making sure there are well-paying jobs for
our people.

Alabama has seen remarkable job growth since I
took office in 2011. Between January 2011 and last November, Alabama saw an
increase of 59,400 jobs.* That is in addition to those 40-thousand new future
jobs we've created.

Companies
have invested over $5-billion dollars in our state.

And
unemployment in Alabama has dropped to a five year low, and now stands at 6.2
percent, the lowest rate in the deep south*

Alabama
once again ranks among the top five states for doing business - for the fourth
year in a row.*

But
we mustn't stop here. We have to keep working to make sure we are doing all we
can to not only help people find jobs, but also help businesses continue to
create those jobs, especially the nearly 400-thousand small businesses in the
state.

That
is why I am creating the Small Business Advisory Council to address specific
needs of Alabama's small businesses. Nearly half of Alabama's private sector
workforce is found in small businesses.

The
Small Business Advisory Council will focus on making sure they have the
resources and support needed to not only grow their business, but to create
well-paying jobs for the people of this state.

We
must create greater opportunity for Alabamians to acquire the skills needed for
higher-paying jobs. Companies are looking for and jobs are waiting for skilled
workers.

In
Athens, TR Electrical is a small family-owned company I visited last year.
Business is good, but to keep up with demand, they need more skilled
electricians.

That's
why we created the Governor's College and Career Ready Task Force. We brought
together leaders in the fields of business, industry and education to develop
ideas to help prepare students for a career.

The
Task Force recently presented a number of recommendations that will result in a constant supply of high school and college
graduates who have the skills industries and businesses such as TR Electrical
want.

We
will present legislation creating a Statewide Workforce Council of business and
industry leaders who will advise educators and colleges on the workforce needs
on the types of jobs needed in each region.

We
will expand the number of Career Coaches. We will expand Dual Enrollment
Programs, so that students may attend high school and a 2-year college at the
same time. We will also develop a
marketing campaign and put a greater emphasis on teaching "essential
skills".

Once
implemented this program will improve high school graduation rates and increase
the number of higher-skilled workers.

(PAUSE)

From
North Alabama to South Alabama, we have positioned ourselves for what I believe
will be tremendous growth for generations to come.

At
the Gulf Coast we will build a lodge and meeting facility and improve the Gulf
State Park for all the people of Alabama to enjoy, with funds we secured from a
portion of the BP Oil Settlement.

In
north-central Alabama we will soon begin the study and research of one of this
state's greatest energy resources. 7-point-5 Billion barrels of oil are located
on the surface and sub-surface in north-central Alabama, in the form of oil
sands. This year we will create the
Alabama Oil Sands Program at the Geological Survey and Oil and Gas Board to
further study this potentially rich resource.

(PAUSE)

Each
of Alabama's 67 counties has been given the opportunity to recruit more jobs,
thanks to the largest road and bridge improvement program ever conducted in the
state. When companies look for places to build, expand and hire more people,
they look for places that have good infrastructure.

The
Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, ATRIP - along
with its companion program, the Rural Assistance Match Program, known as RAMP
are making over One-billion dollars available to counties and cities, and
allowing much-needed road and bridge projects to move forward.

Today
more than 1-thousand road and bridge improvement projects are underway or soon
will be because of ATRIP and RAMP.

(PAUSE)

Alabamians
elected us, and have expected us to operate their state government more
efficiently, and to live within our means. When we entered office in 2011, our
state was broke. We took a serious look
at all areas of state government to identify savings.

Thanks
to the hard work of Lieutenant Governor Ivey, Speaker Hubbard, President Marsh
and the Legislature, we made history in the state of Alabama.

Tonight
I'm proud to tell the hard working people of this state that we did what we set
out to do. In just three years' time, we have reduced this state's bureaucracy
at the third fastest pace of any other state in this nation * - and saved our
taxpayers over One-Billion dollars.

(Applause)

We
also remain steadfastly committed to paying off our debts.

One
year ago, I stood here and promised I would sign legislation to pay back
millions of dollars the people allowed us to borrow from the Alabama Trust
Fund. That transfer allowed us to prop up lack of funding in the state's
General Fund, kept Alabamians working, and enabled us to continue to provide
essential government services.

That
was the first bill passed by this Legislature, and I signed it.

And
in October, because of conservative budgeting and an improving economy, we made
substantial progress in our commitment to paying off millions of dollars still
owed to the Education Trust Fund's Rainy Day Account.

We must keep our word to the people of this
state, and we must pay our debts.

And
that's exactly what we are going to do.

Because
debt is one of the greatest threats to our country today...

Our
nation is now buckling under the weight of a federal government that has
continued to take on debilitating debt. We've opened the doors of dependency
programs to millions.

Our
nation is an overloaded ship, slowly sinking as even more passengers come on
board.

Exactly
Fifty years ago, this nation's President declared a War on Poverty, with
sweeping new legislation aimed at lowering the poverty rate in this country.

But
this War did little to liberate its people. The National Poverty rate now
stands at 15-percent*, and has changed very little over the last 50 years. In
Alabama, the poverty rate is even higher, with some counties as high as
36-percent.

This
war gave our country a new set of federal government-run programs, intended to
offer assistance, or a safety net for Americans who are struggling. Those
programs today have grown, expanded and have become a "lumbering
giant" threatening our nation's economic stability, national security and
the very freedom of our people.

The
Affordable Care Act - or Obamacare and Medicaid Expansion is taking our nation
deeper into the abyss of debt, and threatens to dismantle what I believe is one
of the most trusted relationships, that of doctors and their patient.

Essential
to Obamacare is Medicaid Expansion - a federal government dependency program
for the uninsured, which is administered by states. Since 1980, Medicaid spending has increased
nationally by over 1500-percent.

Here
in Alabama, Medicaid takes up 35% of our General Fund.

And
under Obamacare, Medicaid would grow even larger - bringing millions more
people to a state of dependency on government, and saddling our state and our
nation - the taxpayers - with the enormous expense.

Here
in Alabama alone, an estimated 300-thousand more people would be added to the
Medicaid role, to a system that by our own admission is absolutely broken and
flawed.

First,
they told us we could keep our Doctor - that turned out not to be true.

Next,
they told us we could keep our policy - That's Not True.

Then
they told us our premiums wouldn't go up - Nothing could be further from the
truth.

Now
they are telling us we'll get "free money" to expand Medicaid.

Ladies
and Gentlemen, Nothing is Free. The money the federal government is spending
with wild abandon is not "federal" dollars - those are your dollars,
your hard-earned tax dollars.

There
is no difference between Federal money and your money.

Our
great nation is 17-point-2 trillion dollars in debt and it increases by
2-billion dollars every single day.

That
is why I cannot expand Medicaid in Alabama. We will not bring hundreds of
thousands into a system that is broken and buckling.

The
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is everything but Affordable.

There
are 18 new taxes embedded in Obamacare and Medicaid Expansion, which will cost
you an estimated 800-Billion dollars in the next 8 years.

It
is draining our state budgets, and will siphon millions of dollars from our
Education Budget by 2016 - that's money that could have been spent on teachers,
students and support personnel.

It
does not protect patients. 22-percent of primary care doctors account for
90-percent of primary care billing. If we were to add 300-thousand to Medicaid
- where would they receive care?

Already
in Alabama, because of Obamacare, over *87-thousand people have seen a change
in their coverage, and you or someone you know has likely seen your premiums
double.

Business
and job growth is being stifled. Employers are leaving positions unfilled, or
laying off workers so they can fall under the employee threshold that would
require them to participate in Obamacare and Medicaid Expansion, or face
penalties.

Do
we have a problem with accessible health care in this country, yes we do. But
putting 300-thousand more people into a broken system that will cost taxpayers
billions and drive up this nation's debt is not the answer.

That
is why we are reforming Medicaid in Alabama today to make it more efficient,
and more effective to produce better outcomes.

We
are giving it back to the people, developing it from the ground up to serve the
people of this state to care for the most vulnerable, the poor, and the disabled.

With
Legislation passed last year we are establishing Regional Care Organizations,
which will use community-based, managed care to improve the health of those on
Medicaid, and lowering the cost to taxpayers.

These
reforms will serve three groups, patients who are receiving care, providers who
are working to manage patient care, and the taxpayers of the State of Alabama
who are paying the bill. Patients will
receive higher-quality care, providers will offer the best management of that
care, and the taxpayers will have a better product at a lower cost.

When
I was still practicing medicine, I saw anyone who needed care. I would travel
to some of the most impoverished counties in west Alabama and spend a day
seeing and caring for patients. If they didn't have the money to pay, I
wouldn't charge them. Many times, I would buy medications for those who could
not afford to buy their prescriptions. As a practicing physician, I would never
want anything to come between me and my patient - especially the federal
government. I am licensed by the state of Alabama, not the federal government,
and we will always keep it that way.

I
am a physician who cared for all my patients regardless of their ability to
pay. but I have another role to play now. I am also your Governor. And I have
to be concerned for our state. Our country is made up of fifty sovereign states
and as one of its Governors I cannot sit by and watch our country continue down
the path it is on, while our nation is drowning in 17-point-2 trillion dollars
in debt.

The
Administration in Washington and the debt it continues to build will sink this
country.

It's
OK to question the federal government. As a matter of fact it's our duty. It's
my duty and that's exactly what I am doing.

The
tenth amendment to our great Constitution, gives us that authority.

Government
cannot grow unless we give it permission to grow.

If
state's do not stand firm and say "no more", there will be no one
left to stop the out of control spending in Washington.

I
love Alabama. And I love America. If we continue down this path, the America
our Founding Fathers envisioned will no longer exist. Gone will be the Promise
that was once based on opportunity, independence and individual liberties.

Nearly
1 million people in Alabama are on Medicaid. It is not my goal to put more
people on Medicaid but to have less. It is not my intent to put able-bodied
individuals on a government dependency program.

We
will encourage our people with the opportunity for education and employment. It
will not happen overnight, but I truly believe where there is opportunity, and
training for higher paying, higher skilled jobs there is greater capacity for
independence and less people will be dependent on government.

(Pause)

There
is no greater opportunity we can give an Alabama child in poverty than a chance
to excel in school. So many of our children need this opportunity - but too few
have access to it.

And
the earlier they begin receiving a quality education, the better chance they
have at success.

Alabama
is home to one of the Nation's Top Pre K programs. Last year we opened 100 new
Pre K sites, and I can tell you, Pre K is making a real difference in the lives
of Alabama's children.

First
Class Pre K children consistently miss fewer days of school, they are less
likely to need Special Education services and are less often retained than
those children who are not in Pre K.

Third-graders
who were in Pre K scored at 100% Reading Proficiency.* But the most significant
result of children in Pre K is the impact on those who live in poverty, from
low-income families.

Pre
K closed the achievement gap for lower income students by as much as 29%.*

Because
of these proven results, I'm including more funding for voluntary Pre K in my
budget, so that we can once again expand.

(PAUSE)

Nothing
is more important to a child's education than their teacher.

And
I truly appreciate the sacrifices our teachers have made.

Last
year Alabama teachers received a 2 percent increase in pay.

This
year I am proposing another 2 percent increase for teachers - and support
personnel.

State
employees have also made sacrifices that have enabled us to balance our
budgets.

That
is why I lifted the merit pay freeze on state employees two weeks ago. We are
still optimistic and if the money is available, will propose a conditional pay
raise up to 4% for state employees.

(CLOSE)

We've
assembled in this Chamber tonight, marking the beginning of another Session of
the Alabama Legislature. And most of us in this room have one thing in common:
We have been chosen by the men and women of this state to serve our fellow
citizens.

We
have been elected - chosen - charged with the task of making our state better
than it was when we first came into office. We have been all placed here to
create opportunity, not just for the men and women of one county or one
district, but for the over 4-million Alabamians who make our state so great.

Wilcox
County, Alabama - the poorest county in the United States hasn't seen a new
major industry since man set foot on the moon.

When
I became your Governor, I had one goal in my mind. I truly wanted to help all
the people of this state - especially in disadvantaged areas, such Wilcox
County.

My
first week in office, I met with Golden Dragon Copper Tubing, and recruited
that company not just to our state - but the area that included Pine Hill in
Wilcox County.

In
a few weeks Golden Dragon will begin production in its brand new 100-million
dollar plant.

Working
there will be a man named William Ausbon. William lives 10 minutes from the
plant, in Pine Hill. He lost his job in October 2012. And for one year he was
another statistic, another percentage point in Wilcox County's high
unemployment rate.

Then
Golden Dragon started hiring and a year later William got a job. A really good
job. I'm honored that William and his wife Toshika are here tonight as mine and
Dianne's special guest. I'd like for you
to meet him.

(Please
stand. Applause)

Up
to 500 people will soon get a job at GD Copper, like William. 500 families in
the nation's poorest area now have a new opportunity at a much better way of
life.

This
is our role, to create an environment where there is opportunity for people to
get a good job, to train and get the skills they need, to get a good education
at an early age and to continually encourage people to break free of the
bondage of dependency, to stand on their own two feet, and we do this by giving
him or her an opportunity for - and the satisfaction of having a job.

William
is why I am here. He is who I work for.
And Alabamians just like him are why we are all here. We should never
forget that.